Sararosa Davies

Sararosa Davies is the senior A&C editor at the Emerald. A former editor at the youth-run music blog Garage Music News, her written work has been featured in City Pages in Minneapolis, Eugene Weekly and Sirius XM's music blog. She's one of many Minnesotan transplants in Oregon.

Send her tips and questions at [email protected] or check out her work at www.sararosadavies.com

The Emerald asked the University of Oregon community to nominate outstanding women to celebrate as part of Women’s History Month. Our newsroom chose one woman to honor from a pool of nominees who are making a significant impact at UO with their integrity, courage, innovation, creativity, spirit, smarts, leadership, hard …

Jeremy Messersmith compared himself to Father John Misty in an interview with the Emerald last spring, but the Minnesotan artist is proving that despite the similar worldview to FJM, he’s an artist with his own voice — somehow overly sweet and dark at the same time. Messersmith’s new album “Late …

Four years ago, New Zealand pop poet Lorde played Portland’s Crystal Ballroom a few hours before indie-pop band Vampire Weekend took the stage. Now in 2018, hot off the release of her sophomore album “Melodrama,” she’s headlining arenas and stadiums across the world. But somehow Lorde — born Ella Yelich-O’Connor …

University of Oregon alum James Ivory won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for his adaptation of Andre Aciman’s novella “Call Me By Your Name” at the 90th Academy Awards. At 89, Ivory is also the oldest person to win an Oscar. Ivory, an acclaimed filmmaker, graduated from UO in 1951 with …

During his classes, journalism professor Tom Wheeler would often joke about lacking a traditional newspaper background before he arrived as an instructor at the University of Oregon’s journalism school. But to his students and colleagues, Wheeler was a master storyteller. He would regale his students with stories about interviewing music …

On this edition of the Emerald culture wrap, Arts and Culture Editor Sararosa Davies, Senior News Reporter Casey Crowley, and Podcast Editor Alec Cowan discuss their favorite concerts from the past year as well as which concerts they’re looking forward to in 2018. They also discuss the advantages and disadvantages …

On this episode of the Emerald Culture wrap, News Reporter Casey Crowley, Senior Arts and Culture Editor Sararosa Davies and Podcast Editor Alec Cowan discuss the recent story from babe.net on Aziz Ansari, and in particular, whether or not we as consumers of media can enjoy Ansari’s work after the …

Join podcast editor Alec Cowan, senior news editor Will Campbell and senior arts and culture editor Sararosa Davies as they discuss Steven Spielberg’s most recent film “The Post”, which examines a 1970s Washington Post as its publishers face the truth about the Vietnam War. The group then compares the movie …

Australian indie-rocker Jen Cloher may have just been in the United States, opening for her partner Courtney Barnett and friend Kurt Vile’s tour this fall — but she’s back in the States and raring to go. Three months after playing the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, the musical storyteller …

In this episode of Emerald Recommends from the Emerald Podcast Network, arts and culture editor Sararosa Davies, music writer Jordan Montero and podcast editor Alec Cowan discuss songs for winter. These are songs both new and old that capture the ambiance of winter months: rain, cold and melancholy, but also …

On this episode of the Emerald culture wrap, podcast editor Alec Cowan and senior arts and culture editor Sararosa Davies discuss what they are looking forward to most in the year 2018. Sararosa names some new albums from artists like Car Seat Headrest and Alec looks forward to all things …

Picture this. Tyler, the Creator; Brockhampton; Foo Fighters; Elton John; The Shins. No, this isn’t the lineup for an quirky music festival in LA or Seattle. If you opened up the Emerald’s calendar in the last year, you might have found these in our in listings. Each of these artists …

Let’s face it. Twenty-seventeen wasn’t a year of loss in the music world like 2016 was. Though Tomy Petty and other important artists passed away, 2017 was a different year for the music world. In some ways, artists began to pick up the pieces of 2016’s shattering losses and build …

The Pacific Northwest had a great year for touring music. Both Portland and Eugene saw their fair share of up-and-coming and established artists come through venue doors. Live shows for bands such as The Shins and Brockhampton brought avid fans together to see some of their favorites, while legendary acts …

This year brought a slew of new and exciting TV shows to TVs and phone screens across the country. Many addressed the current political climate. Some chose to ignore it and focus on other concepts such as mortality. Other series returned to the humor that brought audiences to them in the …

In this episode of Emerald Recommends from the Emerald Podcast Network, arts and culture editor Sararosa Davies, music writers Nic Castillon and Jordan Montero and podcast editor Alec Cowan discuss the music that defined 2017. This is not necessarily the best music to come out this year, but instead, …

Every year features both great and disappointing art, so Emerald arts writers decided to kick off the best of season with releases that fell flat. These aren’t the worst releases of 2017, but instead, the things that we were excited for that didn’t live up to expectations or didn’t even …

On the last of its sold-out three-night residency at the Roseland Theatre in Portland, the Pixies played straight and fast. Clad in all black, the band whipped through 90 minutes of material. Despite playing consecutive shows starting Wednesday, they created a solid wall of sound. The Boston band, known for …

The National is, in some ways, a family band, but all comparisons to the Jackson 5 stop there. The band comprises vocalist Matt Berninger, actual brothers Bryce (guitar) and Aaron Dessner (guitar, keyboards) along with twins Scott (bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). Members are consistently involved in other projects, but …

Taylor Swift drinks and (kind of) raps now, according to her new album, “Reputation.” But the album, with its increased autotune and expansive production value, isn’t just about the death of “Old Taylor,” or her feud with Kanye West or the media’s perceptions of her life. Nor is it a …

At the end of the Civil War, Confederate officer Benjamin Hawthorne surrendered his troops at Virginia’s Appomattox Courthouse and walked 100 miles to his home. In 1873, eight years after the war, he moved to Oregon. In 1959, the University of Oregon named a residence hall after him. Hawthorne, an …

Evan Stephens Hall, the songwriter and lead vocalist for the Montclair, New Jersey band, Pinegrove, has a few unusual songwriting idiosyncrasies. Hall likes to sing about geometry and literature, using those subjects as a way to talk about interpersonal connections. Sometimes Hall even challenges his band’s Twitter followers to find …

On this second episode of the Emerald culture wrap, Senior Podcast Editor Alec Cowan, Associate Arts and Culture Editor Dana Alston, and Senior Arts and Culture Editor Sararosa Davies discuss three things from this past week that caught their attention. What follows is some good talk on “Mindhunter” — Netflix’s …

Halloween is today, so Emerald staffers decided to compare and contrast similar Halloween candies. See which staffers guessed right, and hear their thoughts on the best candies. Happy Halloween from the Emerald! Video produced by Lilly Lion.

Papa’s Soul Food Kitchen and BBQ, a popular and beloved restaurant in the Whiteaker neighborhood, announced today that it will be closing after 15 years in business. The restaurant, at 400 Blair Blvd., made the announcement via Facebook. In the post, current restaurant owner Deb Lee thanked the community and the …

Sustaining a friendship between Australia and the United States isn’t easy, but somehow Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile make it look easy. Intercontinental friendship and the platonic admiration between two people are at the center of Barnett and Vile’s new project and supergroup, the Sea Lice. After years of admiring …

October — or “Rocktober — is just around the corner. This fall various acts, ranging from the Foo Fighters to Tyler, the Creator, are visiting Eugene and Portland. Grab some tickets to see Emerald staffers most anticipated fall shows. Morrissey at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017 …

Caspian Mediterranean Cafe owner Elhaam Yazdi didn’t predict the success of her restaurant’s now famous American double cheeseburger. It’s become a popular item, especially on Friday and Saturday nights when students are looking for food after bars close. Yazdi decided to expand the establishment’s hours on weekend nights shortly after …

With a wealth of dorm experiences — both good, bad and everywhere in between — Emerald staffers are here to pass on some wisdom. Check out the Emerald’s dorm by dorm breakdown of the university’s residence halls below. Global Scholars Hall College dorms are usually pretty barren. Not GSH. It …

Who we are

In addition to its news division, Emerald Media Group houses a number of student-run services. The EMG Portfolio includes the multicultural magazine Ethos, the lifestyle publishing group Emerald Essentials, an event photo service Emerald PhotoBooth and a full-service advertising and marketing department that offers a wide range of solutions to engage with the UO community.